Independent participatory media for Iran

Iran’s election headquarters announced that the parliamentary elections will begin all across the country tomorrow, March 2.

The head of the elections bureau, Solat Mortazavi, told IRNA: “The minimum age for participation in the elections in Iran is 18.”

The candidates’ seven-day campaign ended at 8 AM today, Thursday, and no more campaigning activities are allowed.

There are 48,288,799 people eligible to vote in this election. More than 3,000 candidates are running for the 290 seats in Parliament.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has said that this is Iran’s “most sensitive” election ever and he predicted that the people will “deliver a slap” to the West with a large turnout.

The parliamentary elections have been boycotted by major reformist groups; however, some reformists candidates are running independently.

The conservatives have also been fragmented, and many different groups have endorsed various lists of candidates.

The Fars news agency has predicted 65.5 percent participation in the election, while the Mehr news agency has predicted that 37 percent of Tehran voters will take part.

The last time Iranian voters went to the polls, the outcome was challenged by the reformist candidates for president, and mass demonstrations broke out over allegations that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory was rigged. The protests were put down with widespread violence and arrests.